Warriors Tonight: Houston, you definitely have a problem

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Game 2 Tipoff: 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Toyota Center. TV: TNT. Radio: KGMZ 95.7 “The Game” in Oakland and San Francisco, KRTY 95.3 in San Jose, KION 1460 and 101.1 in Salinas and Monterey.

Game 1: After a 56-56 tie through the first 24 minutes, the Warriors used a typically strong third quarter to take out the Rockets 119-106 and snatch homecourt advantage in the series opener. Golden State used a 27-14 run in the third to take an 85-72 lead and were never seriously threatened after that. Kevin Durant had 37 points and Klay Thompson 28. James Harden scored 41 for the Rockets.

An entire season’s worth of work — the Rockets’ 65-17 best-in-the-NBA record — has been thrown out the window in one game of the Western Conference finals. And with it went homecourt advantage against the Warriors. Houston coach Mike D’Antoni wasn’t buying the significance of losing the homecourt edge, citing the Western Conference semifinals when the Rockets lost Game 2 at home to Utah. But the Warriors aren’t the Jazz, which promptly gave back homecourt advantage by losing Games 3 and 4 in Salt Lake City. To regain homecourt in this series, the Rockets need to win two of the next three games to bring the series back to Houston 2-2. But after tonight, Games 3 and 4 will be played at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors have won 14 consecutive postseason games.

Durant pretty much was able to get a shot whenever he wanted over whomever he wanted on Monday night. He was 14 of 27 from the field and also went to the line eight times. Durant did most of his damage with mid-range jumpers over a variety of defenders big and small.

It really wasn’t all that long ago that Durant and Harden were teammates with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In that lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, Durant averaged 28.0 points and Harden 16.8 off the bench as the Thunder reached the NBA Finals, losing to Miami in five games. Just before the next season, after the Thunder and Sixth Man of the Year Harden couldn’t come to terms on a contract extension, he was traded to Houston with Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Haywood for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two first-round draft picks (Steven Adams in 2013 and Mitch McGary in 2014) and a second-rounder (Alex Abrines in 2013). If Oklahoma City had kept that team together, would there have been a way to keep Durant, Harden and Russell Westbrook happy?

Houston’s isolation game was far too easy for the Warriors to defend in Game 1. There often was little player movement while Harden or Chris Paul pounded the ball into the floor. With the Rockets wasting a lot of time dribbling and running down the 24-second clock, they turned the ball over three times on shot-clock violations in the first half and had to rush bad shots to beat the clock on several other occasions. For the night, Houston had 16 turnovers.

On his way to 28 points, Thompson 6 for 15 on 3-pointers (he also hit all three of his 2-pointers). He spent most of the night open behind the arc, which couldn’t have been part of the Rockets’ game plan. On one attempt, he was so wide open that he even took a dribble for rhythm before firing away —and hitting.

There was no evidence in Game 1 of the Rockets’ improved defense. During the regular season they were sixth the league in defensive efficiency, giving up 103.8 points per 100 possessions. Last season, they were tied for 17th at 106.4. Through the first 10 playoff games, Houston was No. 2 in defensive efficiency at 102.1, a number that climbed to 103.9 after Game 1. That’s what happens when you leave Warriors shooters — especially Thompson — wide open all over the floor. The Warriors shot 52.5 percent from the field and 39.4 percent on 3-pointers.

The Rockets made a concerted effort to take advantage of Stephen Curry’s defense in Game 1. Harden was particularly aggressive whenever he was matched against Curry. The other targeted Warrior was Kevon Looney, but that was more for mismatch purposes, making the bigger defender guard the quicker Paul or Harden on a switch.

Houston’s bench only produced 21 points in Game 1, 15 of them by Eric Gordon. Luc Mbah a Moute, mostly known as a defensive specialist, had a dreadful night. He missed all six of his shots, some from point-blank range. Ryan Anderson and Nene did little in limited playing time.

The Warriors, who are notorious for turning the ball over, limited their miscues to nine, their fewest of the 2018 postseason. Those turnover led to only nine Rockets points. Houston’s 16 turnovers produced 17 Warriors points.

The Warriors are not known for being a strong rebounding team, but here’s something to ponder. Remarkably, the Warriors didn’t get their first offensive rebound in Game 1 until there was 5:03 left in the third quarter. Golden State went the entire first half and 30:47 into the game before getting its first offensive rebound. And who got it? Curry!

The winner of this series will advance to the NBA finals against the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between No. 2 Boston and No. 4 Cleveland. On Tuesday night, the Celtics withstood a big game by LeBron James and took a 2-0 series lead with a 107-94 victory. James scored 21 points in the first quarter as the Cavaliers took a 27-23 lead. But the turning point might have come with 3:50 left in the half and the Cavaliers leading 46-36. James drove to the basket and took a hard shoulder to the jaw from Boston rookie Jayson Tatum. James was shaken up on the play and left the game after making one of two free-throw attempts. Officially, the Cavaliers said James suffered a neck strain, not a concussion. After scoring 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting and 4 of 7 on 3-pointers in the first half, James looked more human in the second half, scoring 17 points while going 7 for 14 from the field. Boston outscored Cleveland in the second half 59-39. James finished with 42 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 23 points. Game 3 is Saturday in Cleveland (5:30 p.m., ESPN).